HYDRO-ARCHITECTURE: NEW DENSITY - SINGAPORE AND THE EXTENDED REGION

Abstract

The region of Southeast Asia has always had strong connections with water-living in the past but has recently been lost to rapid modernization. Now faced with the impending issues of sea level rise and a booming population, countries have to find alternatives to buildable "land" that houses for high density and liveability. Exploring the opportunities of water as new ground, “new density” for water-based development of the future must be explored. New density is the shift from a solid-state mind-set to a liquid perception where conditions and relationships of the architecture with water alters the experience and perceptions of density. Static and permanent land-based systems are rejected and replaced with flexible, adaptable and fluid water-based systems. Case studies in Tanjung Pinang, Batam and Johor will explore and examine the changes and relationships and analyse its positivity on perceptual density.